stresses and depression in the health workplace.

Nurses General Nursing

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Hello friends. I would like to know your opinions. From observation, I have seen that stresses and depression in the health workplace comes more from coworker and manager than from patients. (People will have differing view). I noticed that rumor and talking behind peoples back, as well as the feeling of what's fair and unfair are very unproductive. These kinds of things can hurt the esteem and confidence of the people around us.

So, I'm wondering. Do you feel stresses comes more from dealing with patients or dealing with your coworker?

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Peds/O.R./Legal/cardiology.

Co-workers, administration, and physicians. Hardly ever patients. Due to politics and the "bottom line" our hands are tied to take care of patients anymore. Experienced nurses have had it!

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Specializes in Emergency.

Management is definitely my #1 stressor. Patients' families/ visitors run a close second.

Usually the patients themselves are the least of my headaches.

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In this order, 1. managment 2. fellow employees 3. docs. 4. families 5. patients. I guess there could be an "other" catagory. Cause plenty of things come up that have nothing to do with any of the above.

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Private Duty Peds.

1. Management ( the ones that make the decisions based on money and not pt care)& ( ones that have never been the floor nurse or it was 15+ yrs ago that they were floor nurses)

2. Pt families ( very seldom the pt)

3. Certain docs ( the ones that yell for getting that 0230 call)

4. Some co-workers ( the ones that c/o and don't pull their share nor offer to help a nurse that is so overwhelmed, he/she hasn't had time to go pee)

Just my .02 opinion

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Specializes in Med/Surg; Psych; Tele.
Management is definitely my #1 stressor. Patients' families/ visitors run a close second.

Usually the patients themselves are the least of my headaches.

YES! I'll second that in a heartbeat!

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I agree with all of the above!

So many people who are considering going into nursing are afraid they won't be able to handle, blood, guts, poop, death, and all that. Well, imo, those are the easier aspects of nursing.

Dealing with lack of resources and support needed to do a good job, mgmt rediculousness, lateral violence, work-place politics, co -workers who are lazy/not team players, pt families, docs- those are the difficult things about nursing.

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Specializes in Med/Surg; Psych; Tele.

Naturalized....

Notice how pretty much management/admin is the #1 stressor for us nurses. I'm sure all of the nurses here could talk your ear off about how stupid/misguided/evil administration is. But I'd just like to share that while engaging in this thread, it made me think of an article I read several months ago:

The article was about how in the hospital administrative community there is some kind of unspoken contest between hospitals about the CEOs and their financial earnings. As twisted as this sounds, the article basically said that hospitals somehow earn "bragging rights"/prestige depending on the CEO they hire and how much they are paying him/her, i.e., the more they pay, the more prestige associated with that hospital!!!!!

What is so infuriating is the amount they are paying these greedy #$@'s and then they are always wanting to cry about how poor and financially challenged they are! And who absorbs this financial burden??? Staff, especially nurses, which inevitably leads to the patients!!!!!!!

Man, don't get me started :angryfire

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Specializes in ED, ICU, PSYCH, PP, CEN.

Worst stressor is definately coworkers. Next would be management, then families, doctors and the patients are usually not a problem.

Lateral violence, mobbing, management who puts dollars before pt care causing too hard a work load are my worst problems.

Perhaps one reason other nurses are nasty to each other is because that is how they deal with the stressors they have. They can't really take it out on patients, although I have seen this. So they take it out on each other, or the other nurses that they don't like.

One will of course see meanness to coworkers in any job, but nursing does seem to have more than its share.

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Specializes in LTC, office.

Administration; who only cares about the bottom line, get to me. Then try and pretend they are All About Patient Care. Give me a break. :angryfire

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Specializes in PCU, Home Health.

The only thing that has ever made me cry at work is a patient's family. (And I cried in the bathroom- they didnt see). There is stress with patients and their families- but it is transient. The chronic stress and dread comes from hateful coworkers or management that does not care.

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So if it seems that nurses have their share of "nasty co-workers", does this mean that a caring sensitive person who would make a good nurse because they are compassionate and caring should not pursue nursing because they are not aggressive. I am beginning to wonder if I am picking the right profession. A pre-nursing student (older pre-nursing student), but I believe in team help and support, respect and loyalty. Is that too much to expect in this career? My idea of nursing is caring and nurturing, along with the knowledge, of course. Do I have on rose colored glasses?

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